1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carriage controller for use in a reproducing apparatus for reproducing a multi-layer disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
For increasing a recording density on a disc, there is a method of multiplexing information in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the disc. A multi-layer optical disc is a medium which enables such recording of multiplexed information in the perpendicular direction. With a two-layer optical disc, for example, a first layer and a second layer are formed with a spacer region interposed therebetween, as illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein a reflective layer of the first layer, closer to a light irradiated surface of the disc, is made of a translucent film, so that light transmits the first layer to reach the second layer.
For such a multi-layer optical disc, a so-called opposite recording scheme may be employed, where information to be reproduced is read in reading directions opposite to each other from the first layer and from the second layer. For example, information is read from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the disc on the first layer, while information is read from the outer peripheral side to the inner peripheral side on the second layer.
Therefore, during reproduction of a disc on which information has been recorded in conformity to the opposite recording scheme, a rotating direction of a carriage motor for moving a pickup in a radial direction of the disc must be switched in accordance with a layer from which information is to be read.